Wild Sukkot Weather Leaves Thousands in the Dark

Thousands of people were left without power for hours during the first day of the Sukkot holiday, due to high winds

By David Lev

First Publish: 10/1/2012, 7:22 PM

Sukkah

Flash90

Thousands of people were left without power for hours during the first day of the Sukkot holiday on Sunday night and Monday. High winds blew down power lines in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Bnei Brak, causing power failures throughout the center of the country. Power failures were also reported in some spots in northern Israel, as felled trees due to high winds struck electrical wires.

Most of the blackouts extended from a few minutes to about an hour, but in some places the lights were out for several hours. Emergency Israel Electric Company crews worked to ensure that hospitals and defense installations were able to get power restored. IEC crews warned residents of the affected neighborhoods not to touch wires that had fallen to the ground. As many as 9,000 households were without power much of Monday.

The weather in Israel was atypical for the first day of Sukkot, with overcast skies and extremely humid conditions in many parts of the country, with local showers falling in the north and center of the country. The forecast for Tuesday is possible rain, with temperatures falling and reduced humidity progressively throughout the days of Chol Hamo'ed.